Spring wheel



Jan. 11, 1949. H, L, HARRIS 2,458,941

SPRING WHEEL FiledJuly 22, 1946 -2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

AITDRNEYS.

H. L. RIS

SPRING WHEEL Filed uly 22, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. a; "zl v i 3 5! I m W/ 5 '6 ATTCIRNEY'S Patented Jan. 11, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT ore-roe I ;;.2',45s,94=1=-' v i YseRINc WHEEL I -Henry I:evene l 1arris;Richlandi'wasln '1 Application-July 22, 1946, Serial No 685,507 r ,1

U j ''Glaims;

This. inventionrelates to a, spring wheel; for a motor vehicle that is adapted. for useWithrubber tires" either" pneumatic or solid.

An object of this-invention is toprovide a'ispring wheel. that can be. used for all types and sizes of vehicles and'willn'ot differ in any extent in outside appearancerfrom'the conventional'type of wheelin us'eiatth'e'present'timeL Another object ofthe'invention is to provide a spring, wheel that will; affordsmooth 'and 'easy riding"qualities""ofandwith solid tires as the present day wheelaffords with'theuse of pneumatic tires. iwithi these and other obj'ect's and advantages in view, the invention consists of thernove'l details of construction; arrangement and combination of parts more fully hereinafter described, claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings; inwhicli'; Figure 1 is aside-vieW-of -an:embodiment of the-invention in-usewith a pneumatictire; t Figure 2 isa---verticalsectional view-or'rflthe line 22-'of- Figure 1-with the cover attached;

Figure 3 is anenlarged iragmentaryrdetail view showing the manner in which the spoke is attached tothe hub;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view of the cover for the wheel;

Figure 5 is an enlarged View on the line 55 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a, side view of the invention as applied to a solid tire;

Figure '7 is a fragmentary sectional view of solid tire and wheel, I

Figure 8 is a modification of the invention as applied to the spokes thereof;

Figure 9 is an elevational view of one of the disc washers shown in the modified form in Figure 8 and Figure 10 shows the spring releasing rods.

Referring more in detail to the drawing, the reference numeral l0 designates a pneumatic tire which is mounted on a drop center rim l2, having the conventional annular well or drop center 14.

Fastened to the rim l2 by welding or the like are relatively spaced block members I 6 which are secured at the top to the rim [2 and at the inner side thereof to the well or drop center |4 Each block H3 is provided with an internally threaded bore l8 which extends through the angularly inclined base of the block towards the opposite side of the rim, the bore 18 is at right angular relationship with the base 2!]. The face '22 of the block I6 is provided with externally stu'ds"2"4;' the"use of'which ..will h" later explained. @Topped intothe base?!) of the'fblocks l6 are threaded: studs 26", which are adapted to receive the apertured ends 728 of the semi-circular ,leaf

5 springs "30, The inclinationof" the springs, 3t

are the same. asfth'elbasesfill sothat the springs are connected to the inner end oifthe hub 32. Thehubtzfis'provided with a conical inner end arena U"-shaped"br cket's36fl are welded thereto inrelatively: spaced relation; to each other and equal in numbergithe blocks I'B' fastened to the outer edge"ofthe' 'rini""l2; bolt 3 81e'nters the rolled end 40 of the springsf3lliandthealigned op'enings in the" brackets? a'n'dfis retainediin pposition-i'rr the brackets 't'fi bya' ceeer ey 42. secured to the ii'irrerv fsidey 10f therim 'l IZ inllike manner as arethe 'blo cksf it are 'thevblock memb'ers44 which -'are jsiniilar to theiblofck s [6' having the angular bores \"'46""and clihdb'asejllt. the boresi lfi receive the apertured endsi52f of ,theQ semi-circular leaf springs 54. and l'ooth sf'ets'fof springs have their aperturedends ret ed in position by nuts 56.

Theinclinationof thespring's' is the same as the bores 46 so that the springs are connected to the outer end of the hub 32,

The hub 32 is provided with a similar conical outer end 58 to the inner end 34 and U-shaped brackets 60 welded to the end 58 in relatively spaced relation to each other and equal in number the blocks 44 are fastened to the inner edge of the'rim l2. The blocks 44 and brackets 60 are positioned on the rim l2 and hub 32 interr mediate of the blocks it and brackets 36. A bolt 62 enters the rolled end 64 of the springsi l and thealigned openings of the brackets '60 and is retained in position in the brackets 60 by a cotter key 66. I

The springs and 54 are when fastened to their respective block members so positioned that their ends face in opposite directions toward each other and the springs pass over each other forming a T-shaped formation as shown. Intermediate the ends of the springs 30 and 54 U-shaped brackets 68 are welded to the drop center M. The base of the brackets being provided with an elongated slot H! which is adapted to receive one end of a spoke 12, the other end of which is threaded into a nut 14 welded to the medial portion of the hub,32. The nut I4 and spoke 12 are provided with openings 76 and 80 respectively to receive a cotter key 82 which prevents rotation of the spoke 12, and a nut 84 is positioned on the end of the spoke 12 within 3 the bracket 68 and is retained thereon by a cotter key 85.

A cover 86 simulating in appearance the conventional vehicle wheel is provided with openings 88 which are adapted to receive the studs 24 on the block IB and the cover 86 is retained thereon by nuts 88.

In Figures 6 and 7, the construction is similar in respect to that previously described except that the rim 90 is not a drop center rim;- but is adapted for, use with asolid tire.

The blocks 92 and 94 are therefore provided with lips 96 which are welded to the outer and inner sides of the rim 90.

Positioned on the spoke l2 intermediately oi the bracket 68 and spring 98 is a disc shaped circular washer I00 having smooth bored bosses I02 formed thereon in opposed'rel'ation to each other while at the opposite end of the spring and intermediate the spring 98 and nut 14 is a similarly shaped washer I04 having, internally threaded bosses I00 formed thereon in similar manner as are the bosses I02 on the washer I00.

Should it be necessary to remove the spring 90 which is under tension at all times the elongated bolts I08 are inserted in the smooth bored bosses I 02 of the washer I00and threadably engaged in the bosses I06 and upon tightening of the bolts I08 the spring will be compressed for the easy removal thereof after. any necessary repair has been made, the springs are replaced, the bolts are removed and the wheel is again ready for operation. v r

In Figure 8, a coil spring98 is positioned on the spoke I2 intermediate the bracket 68 and nut H and the spring aids in absorbing the rebound of the spoke and also aids in eliminating noise. There is thus provided a jspringwheel which by its construction permits full springing and provides spokes to prevent sidesway and damage to the individual leai' springs.

It is believed that the operation of the spring wheel will be apparent to those skilled in the art and it is to be understood that minor changes in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or extending beyond the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A device of the character described, comprising a rim adapted to support a vehicle tire, blocks secured to the .outer side I of said rim, blocks secured to the inner side of said rim intermediate the blocks secured to the outer side thereof, a hub having conical shaped inner and outer ends and semi-circular springs which are in inclined interlaced relation to each other connecting said blocks and said hub to form a spring wheel.

2. The invention as described in claim 1 wherein spokes are provided intermediate the ends of said springs and are connected to said rim and said hub.

3. The invention as described in claim 1 wherein U'-shaped brackets are provided on said REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 994,297 Arnold et al June 6, 1911 1,064,636 Gibson June 10, 1913 1,137,509 Marley et al. Apr. 27, 1915 1,207,340 Stratton Dec. 5, 1916 1,546,513 Sipes July 21, 1925 

